Wikipedia

Giorgia Villa

Giorgia Villa (born 23 February 2003) is an Italian artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams that won silver at the 2024 Olympic Games and bronze at the 2019 World Championships. Additionally, she was part of the gold-winning teams at both the 2022 Mediterranean Games and the 2022 European Championships. Individually, she is the 2018, 2020, and 2021 Italian national champion, the 2018 Youth Olympic champion, and the 2018 European junior all-around and beam champion. She is also a member of the Italian national team.

Giorgia Villa
Villa at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games
Personal information
Country represented Italy
Born (2003-02-23) February 23, 2003 (age 21)
Ponte San Pietro, Lombardy, Italy
ResidenceBrescia, Italy
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2015–present (ITA)
ClubFiamme Oro
GymBrixia
Head coach(es)Enrico Casella
Music"That Man / Sing, Sing, Sing" (2017–2018)
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Italy
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Team
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Stuttgart Team
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Munich Team
Silver medal – second place 2023 Antalya Team
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Oran Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Oran Uneven Bars
Youth Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Buenos Aires All-Around
Gold medal – first place 2018 Buenos Aires Vault
Gold medal – first place 2018 Buenos Aires Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2018 Buenos Aires Uneven Bars
FIG World Cup Series
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Apparatus World Cup 2 2 0
Total 2 2 0

Early life

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Giorgia Villa was born in Ponte San Pietro, Italy, on February 23, 2003.[1] She started gymnastics when she was four. In 2010 she moved to Brescia to train at the International Academy of Brixia, the same gym Vanessa Ferrari trained at.[2]

Junior gymnastics career

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2015–2017

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Villa made her international debut at the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy as part of Italy's Young Dreams team alongside Asia and Alice D'Amato.[3]

In 2017 Villa tore her achilles tendon during her floor exercise routine at the City of Jesolo Trophy and was unable to finish the competition.[4] Villa later competed at the Italian National Championships where she placed first on uneven bars, the only event she competed on.[5]

2018

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Villa competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in April. Italy placed first in the team competition, and individually Villa placed second in the all-around behind Vladislava Urazova of Russia, and fourth on vault and uneven bars.[6] Villa competed at the 2018 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships alongside Asia D'Amato, Alice D'Amato, Alessia Federici, and Elisa Iorio where Italy won team gold. Individually Villa won all-around and balance beam gold (ahead of Amelie Morgan of Great Britain), and vault and floor exercise silver, behind teammate Asia D'Amato and Romanian Ioana Stănciulescu respectively.[7]

She was later selected to represent Italy at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[8] At the Youth Olympic Games she qualified to every event final, qualifying first on uneven bars and vault, second in the individual all-around and on floor exercise (behind Anastasia Bachynska of Ukraine), and seventh on balance beam.[9] In the all-around final she was able to win the gold medal after top qualifier Bachynksa suffered mistakes on both balance beam and floor exercise. She was also the first all-around champion since the Youth Olympic Games inception that was not from Russia.[10] She continued her strong performances into the event finals, winning gold on vault and floor exercise, ahead of Csenge Bácskay of Hungary and Morgan respectively, silver on uneven bars behind Russian Ksenia Klimenko, and finishing fourth on balance beam.[11][12] Villa was selected as Italy's flag bearer for the closing ceremony.[13]

 
Vault qualifications
 
Uneven bars final
 
Balance beam final
 
Floor exercise final
Villa at the 2018 Youth Olympics

Senior gymnastics career

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2019

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Villa made her senior debut at the 1st Italian Serie A competition. She finished first in the team and all-around and scored highest on balance beam and second highest on vault, behind Alice D'Amato.[14] She was slated to make her senior international debut at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy but had to withdraw at the last minute due to an injury to the middle finger of the right hand.[15] It was later revealed that she broke her finger and would therefore have limited training leading up to the 2019 European Championships in April.[16] In late March Villa competed at the 2nd Italian Serie A, but she only competed on uneven bars where she recorded the highest score.[17]

 
Villa competing at the 2019 European Championships

In April Villa was officially named to the team to compete at the 2019 European Championships alongside Iorio and the D'Amato twins.[18] Villa qualified to the all-around final in seventh place after falling off the uneven bars and qualified to the balance beam final in first.[19] In the all-around final she managed sixth after making mistakes on bars and floor and falling on beam, and in the balance beam final another fall took her out of medal contention.

In May Villa competed at the 3rd Italian Serie A where she placed first in the all-around and on vault, uneven bars, and balance beam.[20] In August Villa competed at the Heerenveen Friendly where she helped Italy win gold in the team competition ahead of the Netherlands and Norway, and individually she won gold in the all-around despite falling on the uneven bars, finishing ahead of Eythora Thorsdottir. Additionally she recorded the highest balance beam score and the second highest vault and floor exercise scores.[21][22] On September 4 Villa was named to the team to compete at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany alongside Alice D'Amato, Asia D'Amato, Elisa Iorio, and Desiree Carofiglio.

During qualifications at the World Championships Villa helped Italy qualify to the team final in eighth place; as a result Italy also qualified to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Individually she qualified to the all-around final in twelfth place.[23] In the team final, Villa competed on all four events to lead Italy to a surprise bronze medal – Italy's first team medal since the 1950 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. They ended up finishing behind the United States, winning their fifth consecutive title, and Russia but finished ahead of China, who originally qualified to the final in second place.[24] During the all-around Villa finished in sixteenth place after falling off of the balance beam. She received the fourth highest score on vault behind Simone Biles of the United States, Aline Friess of France, and Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland and the fifth highest score on uneven bars behind Nina Derwael of Belgium, Elisabeth Seitz of Germany, Biles, and Tang Xijing of China.[25]

2020

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In January it was announced that Villa would represent Italy at the American Cup in March 2020.[26] The following month it was announced that Villa would also represent Italy at the Tokyo World Cup taking place on April 4.[27] At the American Cup Villa finished in seventh place after falling on the uneven bars, balance beam, and on floor exercise. The Tokyo World Cup was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[28]

In November Villa competed at the Italian National Championships. She tied for first with Asia D'Amato after she fell on her vault. During event finals she won her fourth consecutive gold on the uneven bars, won silver on balance beam behind Martina Maggio, and gold on floor exercise.[29]

2021

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In April Villa was selected to represent Italy at the European Championships in Basel alongside Alice D'Amato, Martina Maggio, and Vanessa Ferrari.[30] During qualifications Villa only competed on the uneven bars and balance beam. Although she fell off the balance beam, she was able to qualify to the uneven bars event final.[31] During the event final she finished in fourth place behind Angelina Melnikova, Vladislava Urazova, and Amelie Morgan.

In late June Villa competed at the Flanders International Team Challenge where she helped Italy place third. Individually she placed fifth in the all-around but won gold on balance beam and bronze on the uneven bars.[32] Villa was named to the team to represent Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Alice and Asia D'Amato and Martina Maggio.[33]

Villa won her third national all-around title in July; however she injured her ankle during floor exercise and was unable to compete at the Olympic Games.[34]

2022

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Villa competed at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge. Her scores on uneven bars and balance beam contributed towards Italy's second-place finish. Individually she won gold on uneven bars. Villa next competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She helped Italy finish second as a team and individually placed third on the uneven bars.[35] In June Villa competed at the Mediterranean Games alongside Martina Maggio, Alice D'Amato, Asia D'Amato, and Angela Andreoli. Together they won gold in the team competition, over five points ahead of second place France.[36] In August Villa competed at the European Championships. She contributed scores on uneven bars and balance beam towards Italy's first-place finish.[37] During event finals Villa placed fourth and seventh on uneven bars and balance beam respectively.

 
Introduction
 
Uneven bars final
 
Uneven bars final
 
Balance beam final
Villa at the 2022 European Championships

In October Villa competed at the Italian National Championships. She made her return to the all-around for the first time since the previous year's national championships; she placed fourth. During event finals she co-won the uneven bars title alongside Maggio and placed third on balance beam. Villa was later named to the team to compete at the World Championships in Liverpool alongside Alice D'Amato, Martina Maggio, Manila Esposito, Veronica Mandriota, and alternate Elisa Iorio.[38]

2023

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Villa competed at the Baku World Cup where she finished second on uneven bars and first on balance beam.[39] She next competed at the European Championships where she helped Italy finish second as a team. Individually she finished fourth on the uneven bars for the third consecutive year. Villa next competed at the Cairo World Cup where she once again won gold on balance beam and silver on uneven bars. Her two wins on balance beam won her the World Cup series title on the apparatus.[40]

2024

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In July Villa competed at the Italian Championships where she placed fourth in the all-around. At the conclusion of the competition she was named to the team to represent Italy at the 2024 Summer Olympics alongside Alice D'Amato, Angela Andreoli, Elisa Iorio, and Manila Esposito.[41]

At the 2024 Olympic Games Villa helped Italy qualify to the team final in second place. During the team final Villa contributed a score on the uneven bars towards Italy's second place finish, tying Italy's highest Olympic team placement. The last time the Italian women won an Olympic team medal was 96 years prior at the 1928 Olympic Games.[42] During the Olympic Games Villa went viral for her previous sponsorship deal with parmesan cheese.[43]

Competitive history

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Villa (left) on the uneven bars podium at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2015 3rd Italian Serie A  
City of Jesolo Trophy 15
4th Italian Serie A  
2016 1st Italian Serie A    
2nd Italian Serie A   11
City of Jesolo Trophy 6 4 6
3rd Italian Serie A    
4th Italian Serie A   10
Italian Junior Friendly  
Italian Championships    
Tournoi International  
2017 1st Italian Serie A    
International Gymnix   4 8 4
City of Jesolo Trophy   DNF
Italian Championships  
4th Italian Serie A  
2018 1st Italian Serie A    
International Gymnix 5   4 4
City of Jesolo Trophy     4 4 7
2nd Italian Serie A    
3rd Italian Serie A    
Italian Championships        
Pieve di Soligo Friendly    
European Championships       5    
Youth Olympic Games       4  
Senior
2019 1st Italian Serie A        
2nd Italian Serie A    
European Championships 6 8
3rd Italian Serie A          
Heerenveen Friendly    
Italian Championships      
World Championships   16
2020 1st Italian Serie A      
American Cup 7
3rd Italian Serie A       4
National Championships        
2021 1st Italian Serie A  
3rd Italian Serie A  
European Championships 4
FIT Challenge   5     7
National Championships  
2022 1st Italian Serie A    
2nd Italian Serie A      
DTB Pokal Team Challenge    
City of Jesolo Trophy    
Mediterranean Games    
European Championships   4 7
National Championships 4    
World Championships 5
2023 Baku World Cup    
City of Jesolo Trophy     5
European Championships   4
Cairo World Cup    
National Championships  
2024 National Championships 4    
Olympic Games  

References

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  1. ^ "L'Italia junior femminile vince l'oro e fa la storia". federginnastica (in Italian). August 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "Giorgia Villa erede di Vanessa: tricolore a 15 anni". Bresciaoggi (in Italian). August 7, 2018.
  3. ^ "2015 City of Jesolo Trophy Final Results". The Gymterent. March 28, 2015.
  4. ^ "Ginnastica, Trofeo di Jesolo 2018: Italia da sballo, vittoria delle juniores! Giorgia Villa seconda per un decimo". OA Sport (in Italian). April 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "2017 Italian Championships Results". The Gymternet. September 2, 2017.
  6. ^ "2018 City of Jesolo Trophy Results". The Gymternet. April 19, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 European Championships Results". The Gymterent. August 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "The Youth Olympic Games Roster". The Gymternet. September 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ginnastica, Olimpiadi Giovanili 2018: Giorgia Villa firma il poker, finale alla trave! Seconda nel generale, ora caccia agli ori". OA Sport (in Italian). October 10, 2018.
  10. ^ "Ginnastica, Giorgia Villa: una Fata magica col cuore da Campionessa Olimpica. Un leoncino da coccolare, stagione dominata e il futuro". OA Sport (in Italian). October 13, 2018.
  11. ^ "Olimpiadi juniores di Buenos Aires, oro e argento per la ginnasta Giorgia Villa". la Repubblica (in Italian). October 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "Ginnastica, Olimpiadi Giovanili 2018: Giorgia Villa chiude col botto, Campionessa al corpo libero! Tris di ori, ora si vola tra le grandi". OA Sport (in Italian). October 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "YOG, Giorgia Villa portabandiera azzurra nella cerimonia di chiusura". Italian National Olympic Committee (in Italian).
  14. ^ "Ginnastica, Serie A1 2019 – Tutti i podi individuali di giornata a Busto Arsizio. Le migliori sono state". OA Sport (in Italian). February 24, 2019.
  15. ^ "Ginnastica, come sta Giorgia Villa dopo l'infortunio? Niente Trofeo di Jesolo: problemi a un dito ma c'è ottimismo". OA Sport (in Italian). March 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "Ginnastica Artistica, Enrico Casella: "Giorgia Villa non potrà appoggiare le mani per venti giorni. Penalizzata per gli Europei"". OA Sport (in Italian). March 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, Serie A 2019: Brixia straripante a Padova, Villa e le Fate da urlo. Lara Mori super, ok Ferlito. Ora gli Europei". OA Sport (in Italian). March 30, 2019.
  18. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, Europei 2019: le convocate dell'Italia, quattro Fate volano a Stettino. C'è Giorgia Villa". OA Sport (in Italian). April 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, Europei 2019: l'Italia sbanca Stettino, 3 Finali di Specialità. Villa prima alla trave, festa per le gemelle d'Amato". OA Sport (in Italian). April 11, 2019.
  20. ^ "Ginnastica, Serie A1 2019 – Tutti i podi individuali di giornata a Firenze. Le migliori sono state…". OA Sport (in Italian). May 4, 2019.
  21. ^ "2019 Heerenveen Friendly Results". The Gymternet. August 31, 2019.
  22. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, l'Italia vince l'amichevole in Olanda: 165.8 punti, azzurre giganti verso i Mondiali. Giorgia Villa show". OA Sport (in Italian). August 31, 2019.
  23. ^ "Ginnastica, Mondiali 2019: Italia senza finali di specialità, azzurre avanti con la squadra. Villa e Iorio in finale all-around". OASport (in Italian). October 6, 2019.
  24. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, ITALIA: SEI LEGGENDARIA! Bronzo mitologico nella gara a squadre, impresa della vita. Fate da antologia". OASport (in Italian). October 8, 2019.
  25. ^ balancebeamsituation (2019-10-10). "Live from Worlds – Women's All-Around Final". The Balance Beam Situation. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  26. ^ @GinnasticaIta (January 8, 2020). "Giorgia Villa in Coppa del Mondo a Milwaukee! Sarà lei la prima a lottare per un pass in più! Forza Gio" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "Simone Biles heads star-studded field for Tokyo World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. February 14, 2020.
  28. ^ @FIG_media (March 17, 2020). "Japan Gymnastics Association has decided to cancel the #Tokyo All-Around World Cup that was scheduled on 4-5 April 2020" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "Ginnastica, gli Assoluti rilanciano l'Italia. Fate al top, le azzurre illuminano i tricolori. E le Olimpiadi…". OA Sport (in Italian). November 9, 2020.
  30. ^ "Basilea – Ufficializzati i nomi dei convocati per il 9° Campionato Europeo individuale di Artistica maschile e femminile". Federazione Ginnastica d’Italia (in Italian). April 16, 2021.
  31. ^ "Basilea – Europeo: Martina Maggio sfiora il pass olimpico per l'Italia. Finali All-around e di specialità conquistate. Emozioni Azzurre". Federazione Ginnastica d’Italia (in Italian). April 21, 2021.
  32. ^ "2021 FIT Challenge Results". The Gymternet. July 1, 2021.
  33. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, Olimpiadi 2021: le convocate dell'Italia. 4 Fate per la squadra, Vanessa Ferrari individualista" [Artistic gymnastics, 2021 Olympics: the summons of Italy. 4 Do for the team, individualist Vanessa Ferrari]. OA Sport (in Italian). July 5, 2021.
  34. ^ "Tokyo - Giorgia Villa si infortuna a Napoli e perde i Giochi. Ferrari in squadra, Lara Mori individualista". Italian Gymnastics Federation (in Italian). July 13, 2021.
  35. ^ "U.S. athletes earn 14 medals, six gold, on final day of 2022 City of Jesolo Trophy". USA Gymnastics. April 10, 2022.
  36. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, l'Italia vince i Giochi del Mediterraneo. Le Fate si laureano Regine del Mare Nostrum" [Artistic gymnastics, Italy wins the Mediterranean Games. The Fairies graduate Queens of the Mare Nostrum]. OA Sport (in Italian). June 26, 2022.
  37. ^ "Italy win artistic gymnastics team gold at European Championships". International Olympic Committee. August 13, 2022.
  38. ^ "Ginnastica artistica, Mondiali 2022: le convocate dell'Italia. Campionesse d'Europa con due assenze, novità Esposito e Mandriota" [Artistic gymnastics, World Cup 2022: the summons of Italy. European champions with two absences, new Esposito and Mandriota]. OA Sport (in Italian). October 25, 2022.
  39. ^ "French gymnasts, Carlos Yulo rise triumphant at Baku World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. March 13, 2023.
  40. ^ "Illia Kovtun, Alice D'Amato crown successful springs with multiple World Cup Series titles". International Gymnastics Federation. May 2, 2023.
  41. ^ "Parigi - Il DTN Casella sceglie le fate olimpiche" [Paris - DTN Casella chooses Olympic fairies]. Italian Gymnastics Federation (in Italian). July 7, 2024.
  42. ^ "Italy's gymnasts enjoy 'wonderful' first women's team medal in 96 years at Paris Olympics". CNN. July 30, 2024.
  43. ^ "Italian Olympic gymnast Giorgia Villa goes viral for cheese partnership". NBC. August 1, 2024.
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